![]() ![]() ![]() The resulting food particles are absorbed by phagocytosis or pinocytosis and digested intracellularly. Unlike vertebrates, these invertebrates only partially digest food material in the intestinal lumen. Next to secretory (zymogenic) cells, enteric phagocytes form one of the two major cell types of the intestine of most invertebrate animals. In contrast, little is known about a second type of cell that is “professionally” involved in phagocytosis, namely the “enteric phagocyte”. Intensive research has revealed in detail molecular and cellular mechanisms of phagocytosis and intracellular digestion in macrophages. Developmentally they derive from specialized compartments within the embryonic mesoderm and early vasculature as part of the process of hematopoiesis. Macrophages form the backbone of the innate immune system. ![]() These are the (“professional”) macrophages, motile cells that seek out and eliminate pathogenic invaders or damaged cells. Whereas most, if not all, cells of the animal body are equipped with the molecular apparatus for phagocytosis and intracellular digestion, a few cell types are specialized for a highly efficient mode of phagocytosis. Phagocytosed material is enzymatically degraded in membrane bound vesicles of the endosome/lysosome system (intracellular digestion). The uptake of macromolecules and larger energy-rich particles into the cell is known as phagocytosis. ![]()
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